After much anticipation, Chevrolet has finally rolled out the next generation Impala at the 2012 New York International Auto Show. One thing is clear, this isn’t your grandpa’s car. And that modern, sharply-angled face? That’s Chevy’s new face. And we were very lucky to have photos ready to show you before the press conference. The Ford Taurus and Hyundai Azera have been put in check. Because this car is hot.
Now, the Eplison-II-based Impala is the 10th generation model, and will be powered by either the 182-horse 2.4L four-cylinder engine with eAssist — achieving 35 mpg — the all-new 2.5L Ecotec with 195 horsepower, or the familiar 3.6L LFX V6 engine with around 303 horsepower. All powertrains will be matched with six-speed transmissions.
The new Impala will feature standard 18-inch wheels and projector-beam headlamps, with HID headlamps. LED daytime running lamps will be standard on LTZ models. The interior — which is all new, even the steering wheel — is now more of a private command center than a mobile sofa akin to the outgoing model. It’s striking, and sexy, and the elder demographics will probably protest against it. But there will be a stable of driver’s aids, such as radar-sensitive collision mitigation braking, a forward collision alert and lane departure warning system, adaptive cruise control, a side blind zone alert and a rear cross traffic alert system as well. There’s also 10 standard airbags, along with OnStar.
The cabin itself is expected to be one of the quietest to ever roll out of Chevrolet’s stable, with abundant sound-absorbing, sound-suppressing and active noise cancellation features supplementing the Impala’s solid structure. It will also make the music that much more clear, which will be controlled by an 8-inch touch screen on the center stack with available Chevy MyLink. In addition, the driver instrument panel features a new instrument cluster with a standard reconfigurable 4.2-inch color display for the driver information center.
Lastly, the next-generation Impala will be built in Hamtramck, Michigan as well as Oshawa, Ontario, and is expected to go on sale early next year.
We’ll be posting more information on the 2014 Chevrolet Impala as it comes to us. Also, we will be streaming Chevy’s press conference tomorrow morning right here on GM Authority!
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Comments
Very nice, now make it RWD~!
Beautiful–I love it! My favorite features are the sleek integration of the front fascia and the muscular creases on the rear fender.
very camaro-esque on the front!! likey likey!!
@Andrew: I agree, but that would involve taking it off Epsilon II altogether, something that won’t be done until at the least the 11th generation. I wager the new “G8” is going to be Chevrolet’s RWD flagship sedan.
Either way, this is HOT! The Impala has looked bland for way to long. The name alongside the front doors is a nice touch too.
Considering that it IS Epsilon II, they could compromise and make a AWD version. It would be much like the new Suzuki Kizashi.
I hope AWD is coming. And some turbo action too. I hope!
Very nicely done…but am I the only one to wonder what it will look like with a set of lights on the roof?!? I really couldn’t help asking myself “Is this what the Enterprise parking lot is gonna look like from now on?” Either way, I approve. The ONLY thing I can see that I don’t care for is the steering wheel. Once again, GM has failed to impress me in that department. They need some people to come in and sort this out. I can perhaps tolerate it in this car…but can you imagine that thing in a Cruze or a Malibu?
Why the ugly steering wheel!? I like every other steering wheel GM has with the exception of the ones on the SUVs. It’s really not a big deal though. Isnt Mylink suppose to be standard like it is on the Malibu?
It looks great! It would be even better if it was rwd.
I wonder how much of this styling will influence the rumored Chevrolet SS/Chevelle/Caprice sedan.
It almost seems to me that Chevrolet might be creating a two-tier lineup. This new grill styling, along with the Traverse, will be for the Chevrolet “Premium” models. Where as the split grill will be for the more “economical” vehicles.
Just a thought.
i think you’re fully right there i actually like the grille on the impalla but i think they could have worked better with the traverse like shrinking it a bit so it’s only a two bar like this is
I like it. The front end has an authoritative look to it – without looking overly aggressive. Personally, I like a real aggressive look, but I think this will appeal to a broad consumer base. I can see people trading their Chargers in for this. Not sure if AWD is possible with this – the hump in the rear floorboard looks too small for both exhaust and a driveshaft.
The side and rear body creases are a nice touch. Adds a sense of style, sophistication, and minimizes the size of the rear panel above the wheel well. Good to see GM willing to get creative with their stamped panels and overcome manufacturing challenges rather than compromise the looks to preserve tooling life.
The interior and driver amenities sound like big a step up from the outgoing model. Looks like something people who travel frequently would be able to live in comfortably. Hell, they may even like the way the steering wheel and dash ‘smiles’ at them.
All in all, I think this car should capture much of the existing Impala market while pulling sales away from the Taurus, Charger, and hopefully, the upcoming Toyota Avalon.
Wow…
Better than I expected it to be, except for that steering wheel. Might be in the top five worst I’ve ever seen.
Don’t judge until you touch it 🙂
From rental car to super car
Looks good. It is about time they changed from the ugly theme of the center bar.
i think this car would be a perfect opel omega for in europe :p 🙂
Unlike a lot of enthusiasts, I understood where Chevrolet was going with this. People hated learning it would remain FWD, but that’s the full size market now. The Taurus, Azera, and Avalon are FWD, contemporary looking cars. The only economy-branded full size RWD car aimed at performance is the Charger, and I think the upcoming model will handle that. Just wait.
Nostalgia is not a priority here, sales and innovation are. I totally agree, and I’d rather see something I can remember 30 years from now than something I remember 30 years ago.
YES! That’s exactly what was on my mind about this car. I know we’ve all seen the forums and people who feel that the impala should have been a rwd g8 like monster. Which, however awesome that would have been, wasn’t going to move in the 100,000+ per year GM needs. Impalas in the late 50s and 60s were the top of the segment in style and I think we now have a segment leader.
A great looking car, I love its rear end – it similar to the Audi A7 which isn`t a bad thing as a whole car looks so premium… By the way in 2000 you`d have to buy a 3.8 l old iron to get a 195 hp powerplant today we have a 2.5 litre I4 that cranks out 195 hp – that` progress.
I’d also like to add about the center bar theme. I agree that I think the economy brand models will continue to use the bar theme, I doubt they decided to axe it between making the Malibu and the Impala. I think they are distinguishing the higher-class models from the economy models.
I don’t care if they axe the bar-theme from sedans and crossovers, but I will not stand for getting rid of it on trucks! That’s a classic.
Yeah but this Impala makes the new Malibu look a little dated. Currently Chevy has a few new products that don`t look like belong to the same brand. Just take a look at the Cruze, Sonic, and Impala and Malibu. They look great but represent different design language.
@justinf yes i see what you mean about the impalla representing foward thinking but hasn’t every generation impalla done the same it was never a nostalgic car just the name. also agree that they need to keep the bar grille on the silverado
@lukas yes they do represent different design language because they are aimed at different demographics completely
Very sharp. The front, however, reminds me a bit of the Taurus.
Better than the older model. However, nowhere as good looking as the Buick LaCrosse or Dodge Charger but on par with the Ford Taurus. Would I buy it? Maybe, but it has to drive alot better than the old model.
Goodbye W body.
Exterior is great, none of this nostagia garbage. Interior is loads better than before, except when it comes to the gauge cluster and the steering wheel.
On their own, both look fine. Combinded, I can’t help but see a distinctive “smiling face” made from the chrome strip on the wheel, and the gauge hoods over the speedo and tach, best seen in photo #12.
It’s bugging me.
actually it’s very nostalgic. it’s just heritage inspired instead of “retro” rehash. the interior is pure 50-60 corvette. the hips over the rear wheels and character line from the front head light are pure 1965-1969 fullsize chevy.
its the essence of congruent and successful long term design. something GM has struggled with for at least 30+ years. it’s a real shame too, because of all the mainstream automakers Foreign or domestic, GM has easily the richest history to pull from when it comes to successful, trend setting solid designs. yet more often than not the bottle lightning in a bottle, then squander it with the next restyle in an attempt to be “new” and “fresh”. in the end each successive generation going into the mid 70s,80s,90,00s just got either blander or uglier.
Wow, waited a long time for this. Had a lot of hope pinned on this car. It is so ho…..UGLY!! I’ve never driven anything but GMs. If I wanted an ugly Honda or Lexus I’d buy one. I’m a die hard, but GM is fading. Making it ever harder for us fans.
So what’s your next move, Mark?
I love the shark fin and the flowing body work, along with the beautiful nose and interior. I’ll be forgetting about shopping for a lacrosse next year, Impala it will be unless they drop a similar package onto a zeta/alpha later in the year.
now they finally went and made a GOOD LOOKING full size sedan! good work GM. too bad you spent all this effort on a relatively pedestrian elipson II platform when this styling on the Zeta chassis would have been a double win. SMH
either way i still like it, and it’s a damn good looking main streamer.
The 2.5 with lets say 200 hp and E- Assist, plus the 3.6 with 315hp not 303 that is keeping things backward. But the car looks cool
I think it looks grrreat! The front reminds me of the base model 1983 Impala- which is a good thing, and proper inspiration for the designer. I think the side sculpting looks more Mercedes CLS than Chevy, but who is complaining. This LOOKS like an Impala to me, I see the DNA in it. I like the new Taurus, but I think this is way better, the Taurus looks mighty chunky/fat/slow from the side, this looks muscular. It went from rental car to one people will aspire to own.